Fashion Revolution Era

In the '90s and today, our culture has become obsessed with fashion, beauty products, and anything material. A generation has become obsessed with Dolce & Gabbana, Jimmy Choo, Louis Vuitton, and everything that shouts luxury and modishness. Having everything "in" on the market is commonplace, making the term "shopaholic" universal. Fashion wasn't the only industry where greedy desires were prevalent. Luxury cars lined up in the garage and bigger houses with multiple pools were also common. The fashion world reached a tipping point with these cravings for better, newer, and classier items. In order to meet the increasing demand for better and newer merchandise all the time, clothing distributors have to rethink their strategy.

Despite this, the fashion industry has been hit hard by the recession. Clothing and fashion are luxury items that can easily be cut from the budget, unlike food, which is a staple. How did the fashion industry overcome a problem that uber-fashionistas and shopaholics consider a major hindrance to their lifestyle? Taking advantage of the fashionista's desire to covet the latest without maxing out their credit cards. Marc Jacobs created the signature LV bag for Louis Vuitton in 2000. They didn't make these bags for their long-term customers but for new ones. During the recession, Carrie Pollard had her own way of coping. Using recycled materials, she created recession-themed jewelry. These jewelry donate a portion of their sales to charities. Other small businesses, like wholesale clothing stores and accessory retailers, adopted their own strategies. Some companies invested more in in-store marketing than expensive traditional advertising. Other people don't like to invest in new products to reduce expenses. Most of these small businesses are asking for discounts from manufacturers to cut costs. This puts a lot of pressure on designers and manufacturers to make more unique products.

We're still a long way from recession. There's no doubt that the fashion industry will keep changing to adapt to our recession-stricken culture. Getting green, doing it yourself, and rebuffing greed (which got us into this mess in the first place) are all the rage today. In the meantime, stay away from "it" shoes, wholesale apparel, big labels, and classy designer stuff. These days, socialites wearing Armani or Dolce & Gabbana aren't seen as trendy, but old and outdated. Since the fashion industry is facing recession from all sides, it's time to adapt and evolve to survive.